Mother, the Synonym for Mentor: For Rosario Benig Suson

Nearly everyone who grew up nurtured by his/her mother must agree that our mother is our first mentor.

Mama Mia, as my dad fondly calls her, is and will always be the mentor I would acknowledge foremost amongst all the others I have encountered in different stages of my 50 plus years of living.

Perhaps, I haven’t acknowledged her mentoring at the early part of my childhood, when I was still oblivious to my surroundings, when I still couldn’t talk, write, or fully express my appreciation for her.

So allow me to do that by thanking my mother—
– for teaching me survival, by helping me latch on to her life-giving breast for colostrum, and propping my milk bottle until I could clasp it myself
– for modeling patience and endurance through sleepless nights when I got sick or had teething discomfort, and gentleness even with the sleep deprivation for months on end with my colic
-for teaching me hygiene and sanitation with a conscience by using cloth diapers, instead of the more convenient, disposable ones that spared me from having rashes and unnecessary scars as a baby
-for guiding my hand when I first held a crayon and markers to doodle on walls which she allowed for my creativity to be unfettered, adding to her cleaning chores
-for taking me to regular morning walks along the beach so I could enjoy negative ions for healthier lungs, and introducing me to a healthy lifestyle with summer tennis clinics
-for signing me up on vacation bible school activities and summer camps to meet other kids outside of school
-for taking me to the first few days of Kindergarten to ease separation anxiety but gradually leaving so I can learn independence
-for never failing to surprise me with homemade snacks in my lunchbox to ease hunger pangs
-for teaching me the value of self-care when we go for pediatrician and dentist visits.
-for spanking and scolding me when I quarrel selfishly with my siblings and playmates, while also comforting me whenever I am the one being bullied.
-for ushering me to a world of reading by restricting my televiewing time
-for tasking me with washing the dinner dishes even when I broke more than a dozen cutlery so I could learn how to be more careful, and that work gives us opportunities to grow by sharing responsibilities
-for all the ways she helped me see that I am a person of worth because God gave me life and for all the love she has shown me in spite of my shortcomings.
I can never thank GOD enough for the privilege of having my Mother as my first Mentor.

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